This document provides an overview of the biblical book of Hosea. It summarizes God instructing the prophet Hosea to marry a prostitute to illustrate how Israel has been unfaithful to God. It then recounts Hosea and his wife Gomer having three children, whose names represent messages from God about punishing Israel. The document continues summarizing God accusing Israel of unfaithfulness and idolatry, promising future restoration while also threatening further punishment. It concludes by summarizing calls for Israel to repent and return to God.

1. HOSEA
Hosea
1The LORD gave these messages to
Hosea son of Beeri during the years
when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and
Hezekiah were kings of Judah, and
Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of
Israel.
2When the LORD first began speaking
to Israel through Hosea, he said to him,
"Go and marry a prostitute, so some of
her children will be born to you from
other men. This will illustrate the way my
people have been untrue to me, openly
committing adultery against the LORD
by worshiping other gods."
3So Hosea married Gomer, the daughter
of Diblaim, and she became pregnant
and gave Hosea a son.
4And the LORD said, "Name the child
Jezreel, for I am about to punish King
Jehu's dynasty to avenge the murders
he committed at Jezreel.
5In fact, I will put an end to Israel's
independence by breaking its military
power in the Jezreel Valley."
6Soon Gomer became pregnant again
and gave birth to a daughter. And the
LORD said to Hosea, "Name your
daughter Lo-ruhamah--'Not loved'--for I
will no longer show love to the people of
Israel or forgive them.
7But I, the LORD their God, will show
love to the people of Judah. I will
personally free them from their enemies
without any help from weapons or
armies."
8After Gomer had weaned Lo-ruhamah,
she again became pregnant and gave
birth to a second son.
9And the LORD said, "Name him Loammi--'
Not my people'--for Israel is not
my people, and I am not their God.
10Yet the time will come when Israel will
prosper and become a great nation. In
that day its people will be like the sands
of the seashore--too many to count!
Then, at the place where they were told,
'You are not my people,' it will be said,
'You are children of the living God.'
11Then the people of Judah and Israel
will unite under one leader, and they will
return from exile together. What a day
that will be--the day of Jezreel --when
God will again plant his people in his
land. In that day you will call your
brothers Ammi--'My people.' And you
will call your sisters Ruhamah--'The
ones I love.'
2"But now, call Israel to account, for she
is no longer my wife, and I am no longer
her husband. Tell her to take off her
garish makeup and suggestive clothing
and to stop playing the prostitute.
3If she doesn't, I will strip her as naked
as she was on the day she was born. I
will leave her to die of thirst, as in a
desert or a dry and barren wilderness.
4And I will not love her children as I
would my own because they are not my
children! They were conceived in
adultery.
5For their mother is a shameless
prostitute and became pregnant in a
shameful way. She said, 'I'll run after
other lovers and sell myself to them for
food and drink, for clothing of wool and
linen, and for olive oil.'
6"But I will fence her in with thornbushes.
I will block the road to make her lose her
way.
7When she runs after her lovers, she
won't be able to catch up with them. She
will search for them but not find them.
Then she will think, 'I might as well
return to my husband because I was
better off with him than I am now.'
8She doesn't realize that it was I who
gave her everything she has--the grain,
the wine, the olive oil. Even the gold and
silver she used in worshiping the god
Baal were gifts from me!
9"But now I will take back the wine and
ripened grain I generously provided
each harvest season. I will take away
the linen and wool clothing I gave her to
cover her nakedness.
10I will strip her naked in public, while all
her lovers look on. No one will be able
to rescue her from my hands.
11I will put an end to her annual festivals,
her new moon celebrations, and her
Sabbath days--all her appointed
festivals.
12I will destroy her vineyards and
orchards, things she claims her lovers
gave her. I will let them grow into
tangled thickets, where only wild
animals will eat the fruit.
13I will punish her for all the times she
deserted me, when she burned incense
to her images of Baal, put on her
earrings and jewels, and went out
looking for her lovers," says the LORD.
14"But then I will win her back once
again. I will lead her out into the desert
and speak tenderly to her there.
15I will return her vineyards to her and

2. HOSEA
transform the Valley of Trouble into a
gateway of hope. She will give herself to
me there, as she did long ago when she
was young, when I freed her from her
captivity in Egypt.
16"In that coming day," says the LORD,
"you will call me 'my husband' instead of
'my master.'
17O Israel, I will cause you to forget your
images of Baal; even their names will no
longer be spoken.
18At that time I will make a covenant with
all the wild animals and the birds and
the animals that scurry along the ground
so that they will not harm you. I will
remove all weapons of war from the
land, all swords and bows, so you can
live unafraid in peace and safety.
19I will make you my wife forever,
showing you righteousness and justice,
unfailing love and compassion.
20I will be faithful to you and make you
mine, and you will finally know me as
LORD.
21"In that day," says the LORD, "I will
answer the pleading of the sky for
clouds, which will pour down water on
the earth in answer to its cries for rain.
22Then the earth will answer the thirsty
cries of the grain, the grapes, and the
olive trees for moisture. And the whole
grand chorus will sing together,
'Jezreel'--'God plants!'
23"At that time I will plant a crop of
Israelites and raise them for myself! I
will show love to those I called 'Not
loved.' And to those I called 'Not my
people,' I will say, 'Now you are my
people.' Then they will reply, 'You are
our God!' "
3Then the LORD said to me, "Go and
get your wife again. Bring her back to
you and love her, even though she loves
adultery. For the LORD still loves Israel
even though the people have turned to
other gods, offering them choice gifts. "
2So I bought her back for fifteen pieces
of silver and about five bushels of barley
and a measure of wine.
3Then I said to her, "You must live in my
house for many days and stop your
prostitution. During this time, you will not
have sexual intercourse with anyone,
not even with me. "
4This illustrates that Israel will be a long
time without a king or prince, and
without sacrifices, temple, priests, or
even idols!
5But afterward the people will return to
the LORD their God and to David's
descendant, their king. They will come
trembling in awe to the LORD, and they
will receive his good gifts in the last
days.
4Hear the word of the LORD, O
people of Israel! The LORD has filed a
lawsuit against you, saying: "There is no
faithfulness, no kindness, no knowledge
of God in your land.
2You curse and lie and kill and steal and
commit adultery. There is violence
everywhere, with one murder after
another.
3That is why your land is not producing.
It is filled with sadness, and all living
things are becoming sick and dying.
Even the animals, birds, and fish have
begun to disappear.
4"Don't point your finger at someone
else and try to pass the blame! Look,
you priests, my complaint is with you!
5As a sentence for your crimes, you will
stumble in broad daylight, just as you
might at night, and so will your false
prophets. And I will destroy your mother,
Israel.
6My people are being destroyed
because they don't know me. It is all
your fault, you priests, for you
yourselves refuse to know me. Now I
refuse to recognize you as my priests.
Since you have forgotten the laws of
your God, I will forget to bless your
children.
7The more priests there are, the more
they sin against me. They have
exchanged the glory of God for the
disgrace of idols.
8"The priests get fed when the people
sin and bring their sin offerings to them.
So the priests are glad when the people
sin!
9'Like priests, like people'--since the
priests are wicked, the people are
wicked, too. So now I will punish both
priests and people for all their wicked
deeds.
10They will eat and still be hungry.
Though they do a big business as
prostitutes, they will have no children,
for they have deserted the LORD to
worship other gods.
11"Alcohol and prostitution have robbed
my people of their brains.
12They are asking a piece of wood to tell
them what to do! They think a stick can

3. HOSEA
tell them the future! Longing after idols
has made them foolish. They have
played the prostitute, serving other gods
and deserting their God.
13They offer sacrifices to idols on the
tops of mountains. They go up into the
hills to burn incense in the pleasant
shade of oaks, poplars, and other trees.
"That is why your daughters turn to
prostitution, and your daughters-in-law
commit adultery.
14Why should I punish them? For you
men are doing the same thing, sinning
with whores and shrine prostitutes. O
foolish people! You will be destroyed, for
you refuse to understand.
15"Though Israel is a prostitute, may
Judah avoid such guilt. O Judah, do not
join with those who worship me
insincerely at Gilgal and at Beth-aven.
Their worship is mere pretense as they
take oaths in the LORD's name.
16Israel is as stubborn as a heifer, so the
LORD will put her out to pasture. She
will stand alone and unprotected, like a
helpless lamb in an open field.
17Leave her alone because she is
married to idolatry.
18The men of Israel finish up their
drinking bouts and off they go to find
some prostitutes. Their love for shame
is greater than their love for honor.
19So a mighty wind will sweep them
away. They will die in shame because
they offer sacrifices to idols.
5"Hear this, you priests and all of
Israel's leaders! Listen, all you men of
the royal family! These words of
judgment are for you: You are doomed!
For you have led the people into a snare
by worshiping the idols at Mizpah and
Tabor.
2You have dug a deep pit to trap them at
Acacia. But never forget--I will settle
with all of you for what you have done.
3I know what you are like, O Israel! You
have left me as a prostitute leaves her
husband; you are utterly defiled.
4Your deeds won't let you return to your
God. You are a prostitute through and
through, and you cannot know the
LORD.
5"The arrogance of Israel testifies
against her; she will stumble under her
load of guilt. Judah, too, will fall with her.
6Then at last, they will come with their
flocks and herds to offer sacrifices to the
LORD. But it will be too late! They will
not find him, because he has withdrawn
from them, and they are now alone.
7For they have betrayed the honor of the
LORD, bearing children that aren't his.
Now their false religion will devour them,
along with their wealth.
8"Blow the ram's horn in Gibeah! Sound
the alarm in Ramah! Raise the battle cry
in Beth-aven ! Lead on into battle, O
warriors of Benjamin!
9One thing is certain, Israel : When your
day of punishment comes, you will
become a heap of rubble.
10"The leaders of Judah have become
as bad as thieves. So I will pour my
anger down on them like a waterfall.
11The people of Israel will be crushed
and broken by my judgment because
they are determined to worship idols.
12I will destroy Israel as a moth
consumes wool. I will sap Judah's
strength as dry rot weakens wood.
13"When Israel and Judah saw how sick
they were, Israel turned to Assyria, to
the great king there, but he could neither
help nor cure them.
14I will tear at Israel and Judah as a lion
rips apart its prey. I will carry them off,
and there will be no one left to rescue
them.
15Then I will return to my place until they
admit their guilt and look to me for help.
For as soon as trouble comes, they will
search for me."
6"Come, let us return to the LORD! He
has torn us in pieces; now he will heal
us. He has injured us; now he will
bandage our wounds.
2In just a short time, he will restore us so
we can live in his presence.
3Oh, that we might know the LORD! Let
us press on to know him! Then he will
respond to us as surely as the arrival of
dawn or the coming of rains in early
spring."
4"O Israel and Judah, what should I do
with you?" asks the LORD. "For your
love vanishes like the morning mist and
disappears like dew in the sunlight.
5I sent my prophets to cut you to pieces.
I have slaughtered you with my words,
threatening you with death. My
judgment will strike you as surely as day
follows night.
6I want you to be merciful; I don't want
your sacrifices. I want you to know God;
that's more important than burnt
offerings.

4. HOSEA
7"But like Adam, you broke my covenant
and rebelled against me.
8Gilead is a city of sinners, tracked with
footprints of blood.
9Its citizens are bands of robbers, lying
in ambush for their victims. Gangs of
priests murder travelers along the road
to Shechem and practice every kind of
sin.
10Yes, I have seen a horrible thing in
Israel: My people have defiled
themselves by chasing after other gods!
11"O Judah, a harvest of punishment is
also waiting for you, though I wanted so
much to restore the fortunes of my
people!
7"I wanted to heal Israel, but its sins
were far too great. Samaria is filled with
liars, thieves, and bandits!
2Its people don't realize I am watching
them. Their sinful deeds are all around
them; I see them all!
3The people make the king glad with
their wickedness. The princes laugh
about the people's many lies.
4They are all adulterers, always aflame
with lust. They are like an oven that is
kept hot even while the baker is still
kneading the dough.
5"On royal holidays, the princes get
drunk. The king makes a fool of himself
and drinks with those who are making
fun of him.
6Their hearts blaze like a furnace with
intrigue. Their plot smolders through the
night, and in the morning it flames forth
like a raging fire.
7They kill their kings one after another,
and no one cries out to me for help.
8"My people of Israel mingle with
godless foreigners, picking up their evil
ways. Now they have become as
worthless as a half-baked cake!
9Worshiping foreign gods has sapped
their strength, but they don't even know
it. Israel is like an old man with graying
hair, unaware of how weak and old he
has become.
10His arrogance testifies against him, yet
he doesn't return to the LORD his God
or even try to find him.
11"The people of Israel have become like
silly, witless doves, first calling to Egypt,
then flying to Assyria.
12But as they fly about, I will throw my
net over them and bring them down like
a bird from the sky. I will punish them for
all their evil ways.
13"How terrible it will be for my people
who have deserted me! Let them die, for
they have rebelled against me. I wanted
to redeem them, but they have only
spoken lies about me.
14They do not cry out to me with sincere
hearts. Instead, they sit on their couches
and wail. They cut themselves, begging
foreign gods for crops and prosperity.
15"I trained them and made them strong,
yet now they plot evil against me.
16They look everywhere except to
heaven, to the Most High. They are like
a crooked bow that always misses its
target. Their leaders will be killed by
their enemies because of their insolence
toward me. Then the people of Egypt
will laugh at them.
8"Sound the alarm! The enemy
descends like an eagle on the people of
the LORD, for they have broken my
covenant and revolted against my law.
2Now Israel pleads with me, 'Help us, for
you are our God!'
3But it is too late! The people of Israel
have rejected what is good, and now
their enemies will chase after them.
4The people have appointed kings and
princes, but not with my consent. By
making idols for themselves from their
silver and gold, they have brought about
their own destruction.
5"O Samaria, I reject this calf--this idol
you have made. My fury burns against
you. How long will you be incapable of
innocence?
6This calf you worship was crafted by
your own hands! It is not God! Therefore,
it must be smashed to bits.
7"They have planted the wind and will
harvest the whirlwind. The stalks of
wheat wither, producing no grain. And if
there is any grain, foreigners will eat it.
8The people of Israel have been
swallowed up; they lie among the
nations like an old pot that no one wants.
9Like a wild donkey looking for a mate,
they have gone up to Assyria. The
people of Israel have sold themselves to
many lovers.
10But though they have sold themselves
to many lands, I will now gather them
together. Then they will writhe under the
burden of the great king!
11"Israel has built many altars to take
away sin, but these very altars became
places for sinning!
12Even though I gave them all my laws,

5. HOSEA
they act as if those laws don't apply to
them.
13The people of Israel love their rituals of
sacrifice, but to me their sacrifices are
all meaningless! I will call my people to
account for their sins, and I will punish
them. They will go back down to Egypt.
14"Israel has built great palaces, and
Judah has fortified its cities. But they
have both forgotten their Maker.
Therefore, I will send down fire on their
palaces and burn their fortresses."
9O people of Israel, do not rejoice as
others do. For you have been unfaithful
to your God, hiring yourselves out like
prostitutes, offering sacrifices to other
gods on every threshing floor.
2So now your harvests will be too small
to feed you. The grapes you gather will
not quench your thirst.
3You may no longer stay here in this
land of the LORD. You will be carried off
to Egypt and Assyria, where you will live
on food that is ceremonially unclean.
4There, far from home, you will not be
allowed to pour out wine as a sacrifice
to the LORD. None of the sacrifices you
offer there will please him. Such
sacrifices will be unclean, just as food
touched by a person in mourning is
unclean. All who present such sacrifices
will be defiled. They may eat this food to
feed themselves, but they may not offer
it to the LORD.
5What then will you do on festival days?
What will you do on days of feasting in
the LORD's presence?
6Even if you escape destruction from
Assyria, you will be conquered by Egypt.
Memphis will bury you. Briers will take
over your treasures of silver; brambles
will fill your homes.
7The time of Israel's punishment has
come; the day of payment is almost
here. Soon Israel will know this all too
well. "The prophets are crazy!" the
people shout. "The inspired men are
mad!" So they taunt, for the nation is
burdened with sin and shows only
hatred for those who love God.
8The prophet is a watchman for my God
over Israel, yet traps are laid in front of
him wherever he goes. He faces hostility
even in the house of God.
9The things my people do are as
depraved as what they did in Gibeah
long ago. God will not forget. He will
surely punish them for their sins.
10The LORD says, "O Israel, when I first
found you, it was like finding fresh
grapes in the desert! When I saw your
ancestors, it was like seeing the first ripe
figs of the season! But then they
deserted me for Baal-peor, giving
themselves to that shameful idol. Soon
they became as vile as the god they
worshiped.
11The glory of Israel will fly away like a
bird, for your children will die at birth or
perish in the womb or never even be
conceived.
12Even if your children do survive to
grow up, I will take them from you. It will
be a terrible day when I turn away and
leave you alone.
13I have watched Israel become as
beautiful and pleasant as Tyre. But now
Israel will bring out her children to be
slaughtered."
14O LORD, what should I request for
your people? I will ask for wombs that
don't give birth and breasts that give no
milk.
15The LORD says, "All their wickedness
began at Gilgal; there I began to hate
them. I will drive them from my land
because of their evil actions. I will love
them no more because all their leaders
are rebels.
16The people of Israel are stricken. Their
roots are dried up; they will bear no
more fruit. And if they give birth, I will
slaughter their beloved children."
17My God will reject the people of Israel
because they will not listen or obey.
They will be wanderers, homeless
among the nations.
10How prosperous Israel is--a
luxuriant vine loaded with fruit! But the
more wealth the people got, the more
they poured it on the altars of their
foreign gods. The richer the harvests
they brought in, the more beautiful the
statues and idols they built.
2The hearts of the people are fickle; they
are guilty and must be punished. The
LORD will break down their foreign
altars and smash their many idols.
3Then they will say, "We have no king
because we didn't fear the LORD. But
what's the difference? What could a king
do for us anyway?"
4They spout empty words and make
promises they don't intend to keep. So
perverted justice springs up among
them like poisonous weeds in a farmer's

6. HOSEA
field.
5The people of Samaria tremble for their
calf idol at Beth-aven. The people
mourn over it, and the priests wail for it,
because its glory will be stripped away.
6This idol they love so much will be
carted away with them when they go as
captives to Assyria, a gift to the great
king there. Israel will be laughed at and
shamed because its people have trusted
in this idol.
7Samaria will be cut off, and its king will
disappear like a chip of wood on an
ocean wave.
8And the pagan shrines of Aven, the
place of Israel's sin, will crumble. Thorns
and thistles will grow up around them.
They will beg the mountains to bury
them and the hills to fall on them.
9The LORD says, "O Israel, ever since
that awful night in Gibeah, there has
been only sin and more sin! You have
made no progress whatsoever. Was it
not right that the wicked men of Gibeah
were attacked?
10Now I will attack you, too, for your
rebellion and disobedience. I will call out
the armies of the nations to punish you
for your multiplied sins.
11"Israel is like a trained heifer
accustomed to treading out the grain--
an easy job that she loves. Now I will
put a heavy yoke on her tender neck. I
will drive her in front of the plow. Israel
and Judah must now break up the hard
ground; their days of ease are gone.
12I said, 'Plant the good seeds of
righteousness, and you will harvest a
crop of my love. Plow up the hard
ground of your hearts, for now is the
time to seek the LORD, that he may
come and shower righteousness upon
you.'
13"But you have cultivated wickedness
and raised a thriving crop of sins. You
have eaten the fruit of lies--trusting in
your military might, believing that great
armies could make your nation safe!
14Now the terrors of war will rise among
your people. All your fortifications will fall,
just as they did when Shalman
destroyed Beth-arbel. Even mothers and
children were dashed to death there.
15You will share that fate, Bethel,
because of your great wickedness.
When the day of judgment dawns, the
king of Israel will be completely
destroyed.
11"When Israel was a child, I loved
him as a son, and I called my son out of
Egypt.
2But the more I called to him, the more
he rebelled, offering sacrifices to the
images of Baal and burning incense to
idols.
3It was I who taught Israel how to walk,
leading him along by the hand. But he
doesn't know or even care that it was I
who took care of him.
4I led Israel along with my ropes of
kindness and love. I lifted the yoke from
his neck, and I myself stooped to feed
him.
5"But since my people refuse to return to
me, they will go back to Egypt and will
be forced to serve Assyria.
6War will swirl through their cities; their
enemies will crash through their gates
and destroy them, trapping them in their
own evil plans.
7For my people are determined to desert
me. They call me the Most High, but
they don't truly honor me.
8"Oh, how can I give you up, Israel?
How can I let you go? How can I destroy
you like Admah and Zeboiim? My heart
is torn within me, and my compassion
overflows.
9No, I will not punish you as much as my
burning anger tells me to. I will not
completely destroy Israel, for I am God
and not a mere mortal. I am the Holy
One living among you, and I will not
come to destroy.
10"For someday the people will follow
the LORD. I will roar like a lion, and my
people will return trembling from the
west.
11Like a flock of birds, they will come
from Egypt. Flying like doves, they will
return from Assyria. And I will bring
them home again," says the LORD.
12Israel surrounds me with lies and
deceit, but Judah still walks with God
and is faithful to the Holy One.
12The people of Israel feed on the
wind; they chase after the east wind all
day long. They multiply lies and
violence; they make alliances with
Assyria and cut deals with the Egyptians.
2Now the LORD is bringing a lawsuit
against Judah. He is about to punish
Jacob for all his deceitful ways.
3Before Jacob was born, he struggled
with his brother; when he became a

7. HOSEA
man, he even fought with God.
4Yes, he wrestled with the angel and
won. He wept and pleaded for a
blessing from him. There at Bethel he
met God face to face, and God spoke to
him --
5the LORD God Almighty, the LORD is
his name!
6So now, come back to your God! Act on
the principles of love and justice, and
always live in confident dependence on
your God.
7But no, the people are like crafty
merchants selling from dishonest
scales--they love to cheat.
8Israel boasts, "I am rich, and I've gotten
it all by myself! No one can say I got it
by cheating! My record is spotless!"
9"I am the LORD your God, who
rescued you from your slavery in Egypt.
And I will make you live in tents again,
as you do each year when you celebrate
the Festival of Shelters.
10I sent my prophets to warn you with
many visions and parables."
11But Gilead is filled with sinners who
worship idols. And in Gilgal, too, they
sacrifice bulls; their altars are lined up
like the heaps of stone along the edges
of a plowed field.
12Jacob fled to the land of Aram and
earned a wife by tending sheep.
13Then the LORD led Jacob's
descendants, the Israelites, out of Egypt
by a prophet, who guided and protected
them.
14But the people of Israel have bitterly
provoked the LORD, so their Lord will
now sentence them to death in payment
for their sins.
13In the past when the tribe of
Ephraim spoke, the people shook with
fear because the other Israelite tribes
looked up to them. But the people of
Ephraim sinned by worshiping Baal and
thus sealed their destruction.
2Now they keep on sinning by making
silver idols to worship--images shaped
skillfully with human hands. "Sacrifice to
these," they cry, "and kiss the calf idols!"
3Therefore, they will disappear like the
morning mist, like dew in the morning
sun, like chaff blown by the wind, like
smoke from a chimney.
4"I am the LORD your God, who
rescued you from your slavery in Egypt.
You have no God but me, for there is no
other savior.
5I took care of you in the wilderness, in
that dry and thirsty land.
6But when you had eaten and were
satisfied, then you became proud and
forgot me.
7So now I will attack you like a lion, or
like a leopard that lurks along the road.
8I will rip you to pieces like a bear whose
cubs have been taken away. I will tear
you apart and devour you like a hungry
lion.
9"You are about to be destroyed, O
Israel, though I am your helper.
10Where now is your king? Why don't
you call on him for help? Where are all
the leaders of the land? You asked for
them, now let them save you!
11In my anger I gave you kings, and in
my fury I took them away.
12"The sins of Ephraim have been
collected and stored away for
punishment.
13The people have been offered new
birth, but they are like a child who
resists being born. How stubborn they
are! How foolish!
14Should I ransom them from the grave?
Should I redeem them from death? O
death, bring forth your terrors! O grave,
bring forth your plagues! For I will not
relent!
15Ephraim was the most fruitful of all his
brothers, but the east wind--a blast from
the LORD--will arise in the desert. It will
blow hard against the people of Ephraim,
drying up their land. All their flowing
springs and wells will disappear. Every
precious thing they have will be
plundered and carried away.
16The people of Samaria must bear the
consequences of their guilt because
they rebelled against their God. They
will be killed by an invading army, their
little ones dashed to death against the
ground, their pregnant women ripped
open by swords."
14Return, O Israel, to the LORD
your God, for your sins have brought
you down.
2Bring your petitions, and return to the
LORD. Say to him, "Forgive all our sins
and graciously receive us, so that we
may offer you the sacrifice of praise.
3Assyria cannot save us, nor can our
strength in battle. Never again will we
call the idols we have made 'our gods.'
No, in you alone do the orphans find
mercy."

8. HOSEA
4The LORD says, "Then I will heal you
of your idolatry and faithlessness, and
my love will know no bounds, for my
anger will be gone forever!
5I will be to Israel like a refreshing dew
from heaven. It will blossom like the lily;
it will send roots deep into the soil like
the cedars in Lebanon.
6Its branches will spread out like those
of beautiful olive trees, as fragrant as
the cedar forests of Lebanon.
7My people will return again to the safety
of their land. They will flourish like grain
and blossom like grapevines. They will
be as fragrant as the wines of Lebanon.
8"O Israel, stay away from idols! I am
the one who looks after you and cares
for you. I am like a tree that is always
green, giving my fruit to you all through
the year."
9Let those who are wise understand
these things. Let those who are
discerning listen carefully. The paths of
the LORD are true and right, and
righteous people live by walking in them.
But sinners stumble and fall along the way.